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A play called, The Glass House

**This post is long overdue – I know. But I suppose it is better late than never. I am blogging about this now because of my recent house tour of The Philip Johnson Glass House. I wanted to get this in before I blog about the tour.**

I attended a play in late June called, The Glass House. It was written by June Finfer and directed by Evan Bergman. The play was performed really talented actors who played their parts convincingly. To find out the premise of the play, you can read about it on their website. http://www.glasshousetheplay.com/

What I found interesting about the play was the history and relationship of Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson, and the Farnsworth House and PJ's The Glass House. I was never an admirer of Mr. Johnson's work especially after someone told me how much they liked the Chippendale motif building that was called the AT&T building (now it is Sony). And after seeing the play, my opinion of Mr. Johnson as an architect was even less.

While Mies works passionately to design and build the first modern glass house for Mrs. Farnsworth, Philip Johnson selfishly absorbs some detailed comments from Mies about the Farnsworth House, and uses it to design and build his glass house before Mies. As a result, Philip Johnson is dubbed with the first architect to build a modern glass house. That annoyed me. The play portrayed Mies as unaffected by Philip Johnson's haste action to be the first to build a glass house. In fact, in the play Mies was unimpressed with PJ's executed design; it was not as sophisticated as Mies' design because PJ did not spend time studying and understanding the conditions of designing and building a glass house the way Mies had been for years.

I thoroughly enjoyed the play. It has inspired me to read more about the history of these architects and the work they've created and collaborated on.

Bienvenue! Welcome!

I created this blog to help young would-be architects entering or already in the field. I've worked for big corporate firms and small architectural practices with project experiences that range from private residential additions to building renovations.

I want to share my experiences and knowledge, and hope this blog is useful with information on how to deal with employers, employees, contractors, product reps, and the daily stresses of working in an architecture office. I'm happy to dispense helpful advice and information if I can where I can.

When I started out in the work force, I met some architects who were forthcoming with information and advice about professional development. I appreciated their time and wisdom. And so, I want to give back, too.